The Advantages: I have a theory that the best way to reheat the vast majority of foods is to emulate the process by which they were cooked to begin with. Got a cold steak? Sear it in a pan again. Cold pizza? Toss it on a preheated stone (or on a preheated skillet, if you’re impatient).
Bagels are cooked by first boiling, then baking, so this reheating method—which I first heard about on Dan Pashman’s awesome podcast, The Sporkful, and which he subsequently detailed in his book, Eat More Better—was especially promising. Dan instructs you to run your bagel under hot water for 30 seconds before placing it in an oven or toaster oven to reheat. We’re in a drought here in California, so instead of using running water, I did the socially responsible thing and instead dunked my bagels in bowls of water. I tried the method with both hot and tepid water, comparing the results side by side with a bagel that had been toasted whole without dipping.
